Hailrazer's --- Archos Gamepad D-Pad Mod

Well the Archos Gamepad finally came out :



And while it is a pretty good emulating device , it has one GLARING problem. That darn D-pad.
Notice that it is 4 separate buttons. Now for a lot of games that just won't do. It makes it difficult to perform diagonals/combos/special moves.

What to do .... what to do.....

Well what had a GREAT D-Pad ? Hmmm........ Oh yea.



So let's see about getting that D-pad in the Gamepad.

First we'll need to disassemble the Gamepad. Hmmm no screws. Okay well VERY CAREFULLY you will need to use a credit card to pry the two halves apart. Here is a pic of how another person did it.



Now let's look at the insides of this bad boy.





Now here's the area we will be modifying. We need to remove the 5 screws and the d-pad pcb will lift out:



Here is the so-called Archos d-pad housing :
We will have quite a bit of modifying to do here.



And here is the membrane/buttons removed. Notice the buttons are glued on.
We will have to carefully cut those buttons off the membrane later.



Now will the Nes D-pad fit? Yes sir, but it will need to be trimmed a bit



So let's get to work modifying the D-pad housing. I used a dremel cutting blade to CAREFULLY cut out the middle section into a cross/t pattern. I cut it small then filed it a little bit bigger for wiggle room. Then I used a dremel fine tip grinding attachment to get rid of the extra plastic inside the d-pad housing to get a flat surface for the Nes D-pad to sit on. I used a razor blade to trim/scrape the hard to access edges.

Here is the result :



Now we need to modify the Nes D-pad a little bit. We need to decrease the overall size. I just used the dremel sanding drum and took off a mm or so around the edges. To get from this:



To this :



Now we need to grind the nub on the back off almost all the way :



Now does it fit ?



PERFECT !!!

Also at this point I added 2 small pieces of tape to the D-pad's Right side. The reason is that the Gamepad is lower on that side. Adding the tape will make D-pad presses to the right easier and more responsive :



Now it's time to get those buttons off the membrane. CAREFULLY pry the buttons back and use a razor blade to cyt the glue. DON'T CUT THE MEMBRANE OR TEAR IT !!
Here's what it should look like when done :



Re-Assemble your D-Pad pcb. Then pop back together your Archos Gamepad. Be sure to take out any Micro S-d card you have installed or you might break it when putting the Gamepad back together.

Here is the finished result :

 

Okay, that's pretty Dang awesome. Personally I've always preferred playstation style dpads, but to each his own. What are your thoughts on the device otherwise? Its one of the few tablets I've honestly considered getting.

 

I really like it. I have probably 10 other Android devices and this one runs emulators all the way up to N64/Ps1 the best.

The analogs are true analog. The button mapping is spot on. The N64/Ps1 emulation doesn't need frameskip and runs a ton of games perfectly.

The screen is fine even if the top viewing angle is poor. Sound is loud enough. Android Games run smooth.

Battery life seems low. around 3 hours. But I can live with it and plug/play it when needed.

Until the JXD S7300 comes out and shows it is better, the Gamepad is my #1 Emulation device to use.